This application is continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/731,720, filed Dec. 9, 2003, now U.S. pat. No. 6,957,461, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/731,720 is a divisional and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/750,741, filed Dec. 29, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,680, titled Hospital Bed, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/173,428, filed Dec. 29, 1999, titled Hospital Bed; a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/751,031, filed Dec. 29, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,691,346, titled Foot Controls for a Bed, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/173,428, filed Dec. 29, 1999, titled Hospital Bed; a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/648,053, filed Aug. 26, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,880,189, titled Patient Support which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/750,859, filed Dec. 29, 2000, titled Mattress Having a Retractable Foot Section, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,979, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/173,428, filed Dec. 29, 1999, titled Hospital Bed; and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/657,696, filed Sep. 8, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,296,312, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/408,698, filed Sep. 6, 2002, titled Hospital Bed; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/409,748, filed Sep. 11, 2002, titled Bed Siderail; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/489,171, filed Jul. 22, 2003, titled Hospital Bed; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/490,467, filed Jul. 28, 2003, titled Hospital Bed, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein. The disclosures of PCT Application PCT/US98/20002, titled Hospital Bed Having a Retracting Foot Section, filed Sep. 23, 1998, to Allen et al.; U.S. Utility Patent Application Ser. No. 09/750,859, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,979, titled Mattress Having a Retractable Foot Section, filed Dec. 29, 2000, to Welling et al.; and U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 09/751,031, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,691,345, titled Foot Controls for a Bed, filed Dec. 29, 2000, to Osborne et al. are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a hospital bed. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hospital bed siderails and a controller coupled to one of the siderail.
Hospital bed and other patient supports are known. Typically, such patient supports are used to provide a support surface for patients or other individuals for treatment, recuperation, or rest. Many such patient supports include a frame, a deck supported by the frame, a mattress, siderails configured to block egress of a patient from the mattress, and a controller configured to control one or more features of the bed.
According to the present invention, a patient support is provided. The patient support includes a frame, a deck supported by the frame, and a mechanism. The deck includes a seat section pivotable relative to the frame to move between first and second positions and a foot section pivotable relative to the seat section to move between first and second positions. The mechanism is configured to control movement of the foot section relative to the seat section. The mechanism is configured to move between a first position wherein the foot section remains substantially horizontal when the seat section moves from the first position to the second position and a second position wherein the foot section deviates from being substantially horizontal when the seat section moves from the first position to the second position.
According to another aspect of the present invention, another patient support is provided including a frame, a deck, and a linkage. The deck is supported by the frame and includes a seat section pivotable relative to the frame to move between first and second positions and a foot section pivotable relative to the seat section to move between first and second positions. The linkage has a first end and a second end coupled to the foot section of the deck. The linkage has a first configuration wherein a distance between the first and second ends remains substantially constant during movement of the seat section between the first and second positions and a second configuration wherein the distance substantially decreases during movement of the seat section between the first and second positions.
According to another aspect of the present invention another patient support is provided including a frame and a deck supported by the frame. The deck includes a seat section pivotable relative to the frame to move between first and second positions and a foot section pivotable relative to the seat section. The seat section and foot section cooperate to define an angle when the seat section is in the second position. The patient support further includes means for selecting the angle defined between the seat and foot section rotation when the seat section is in the second position.
Additional features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.